Flint parishioners, city leaders shaken by church homicide; they say ideas needed to stem violence

View full sizeA man wearing an RIP sweatshirt walks by Full Gospel Christian Church on King Avenue Saturday, January 12. A 28-year-old man was shot and killed inside the church during the funeral of Gerrell Tyler, 26, who was shot to death in Flint on Dec. 30. Police said the suspect fled the scene and is still at large.Lauren Justice | MLive.com

“It’s hard everywhere, but going into a church was crossing the line,” said Mixon, 50, of the shooting at Full Gospel Christian Church, which led to the death of 28-year-old Steven Lawson. The shooter was still at large.

Residents, church and community leaders were left trying to figure out what could be done to stem the violence that has now reached inside the city’s places of worship, typically sanctuaries for those seeking shelter and relief.

“People have lost respect for the Lord’s house,” said Randolph, pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, after someone shot and killed 28-year-old Steven Lawson inside Full Gospel Christian Church. “We’ve had killings now in the schools, the government and now the church. It’s out of control.”

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling expressed his sadness upon hearing the news, stating, “This latest homicide comes as a horrible shock to the community. The utter disregard for the value of life and our society is stunning.”

Flint resident Sharonda Goza called the incident “very, very sad” as she loaded up her children following a mid-morning church service at Foss Avenue Baptist Church.

“That mother had to bury her son and somebody else has to bury their child now,” said Goza, 36. “We have no morals, no self-pity where someone would go to a church and shoot somebody.”

Searching for solutions

City Adminstrator Mike Brown said Flint officials “will continue to work” on tackling crime and other issues surrounding violence.

“We have a criminal justice adviser council we created. Part of that is not just law enforcement, but it’s human services and ways we can approach the problem differently,” he said. “It’s not all just about incarcerating people. We have young people that are both victims and perpetrators of violence.”

Steps include working on areas such as conflict resolution and inviting Community Mental Health to discuss the mental issues some are facing, but Brown noted, “They have been reduced staffwide so much because of loss of revenue,” much as the city has been in recent years.

“A lot of people have the want to make an impact and changes, but they are restricted by the same revenue challenges that we have,” he said, while pointing to the need for human services organization, such as the Reach Runaway Program, to come forth and work with children and adults.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said his department may start looking for more volunteers to participate in its Security in Ministry program that brings unarmed Christian men and women to several churches in the city of Flint and other surrounding areas to keep an extra watch during services.

“They do not carry guns, or weapons, or Tasers or handcuffs, but they are security and they have been trained as security,” he said,. The volunteers help keep down the number of burglaries and larcenies of vehicles outside and inside the church.

“They are not police officers, they have no arrest powers,” Pickell said. “They do a tremendous job. In light of what has happened over the weekend, I’ll be meeting with (Col. Ralph) Tedford this week and we’ll be kind of taking a look at our role.”

Pickell said that would likely not include armed security personnel, because of the potential liability involved. He said that decision would be up to local pastors on a case-by-case basis.

Randolph said security is used at Antioch and doors are locked and monitored during services, but he was leery of armed security because it could lead to others inside a church being caught in the crossfire.

Mixon said any ideas coming forth to reverse crime need to become more than just words from people in the community.

“We can’t just say God, we need your help,” said the 50-year-old Mixon. “We need to say this needs to stop and we need action.”

She noted the change needs to begin in the home, with parents taking more responsibility and holder a tighter watch on their children.

“Parents are more lax than they were before,” Mixon said. “They are not focusing on their kids’ education. They don’t know who their kids’ friends are.”

Children need to be told “there's a better way” of living life, said Mixon, because otherwise, “You’re either going to end up dead or in prison.”

Police seek public's help

Flint Police Chief Alvern Lock said he’s addressed time and again what needs to take place to change the culture of violence.

“It’s like I’ve been saying all along and I continue to repeat myself. Someone knows what’s going and what was going to happen,” he said. They need to call us and let us know.

“This was not a random act. No one walked into the church and decided to pick somebody out,” Lock said. “There’s somebody there that knew who it was. It wasn’t two strangers.”

When asked why people won’t step forward, Lock replied, “If I had that answer, then I could solve the problem, but I don’t have that answer.”

Pickell said “On any given day in the county jail, we have between 56 and 64 percent of our jail population on psychotropic medication,” but he said every person doesn’t suffer from some type of mental issue.

He said there are other issues at play, including drugs, dysfunctional families and lack of education that “have plagued our community,” not just the city of Flint, which will require a significant amount of time and money to address.

“People thought opening the city lockup would eliminate violent crime. It’s not reducing violent crime,” said Pickell, while pointing to the homicides that have already taken place in 2013. “I think we have to have a much more comprehensive plan than more police and more jails.

“We’re getting that and the problem is still escalating,” he said. “People that are in postions of command out there need to get together and talk about it.”

Mixon called on everyone -- those with and without children – to talk with a young person in the Flint community about their paths in life.

“Tell that young man or young woman, you don’t have to live like this,” she said.

Roberto can be reached by phone at 810-429-3865, by email at racosta1@mlive.com, on Facebook at Roberto Acosta Flint Journal or on Twitter @racostaFJ.